Sermon 05132012, Easter 5, 5th Sunday After Easter

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, Alleluia!  Lord Jesus Christ You promise to lift each of us up in prayer in order for us to feel Your love.  May we daily feel Your prayers and know You have fought the good fight and overcome the world for each of us.  For this truth was manifest with Your death on the Cross.  The battle may have been over, but the victory is ours through our baptism into Your life, death and resurrection for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Jesus Christ overcame the world for us!  He is risen indeed Alleluia!

In the Old Testament there are many books and chapters that seem dull and dry to the casual reader.  One can easily get lost in who begat whom and the wars that raged when one people would come against Israel, God’s chosen people.  If you were to read 2^nd Kings 18 and 19, Hezekiah was made King over Israel and ‘he did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his Father David had done.’ (2 Kings 18:3).  The stark reality for us this morning is that even in the Old Testament with Hezekiah, Jesus words to the disciples we hear this morning were fulfilled for the King and people who did what King David did and followed the Lord’s teachings and Moses commandments.  Hear Hezekiah’s prayer:

“¹⁴ Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. ¹⁵ Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶  Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands¹⁸ and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. ¹⁹ Now, O Lord our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O Lord, are God.”

²⁰ Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.’

The key that Hezekiah heard through Isaiah the prophet and that we hear today from Jesus own lips are that when we ask God for something in our prayers, God will answer our prayers, because He prays to the Father for us.

Jesus Christ clearly says He prays for us.  Jesus Christ taught His disciples when asked what we call the Lord’s Prayer and we are to pray that prayer in time of need, in times where we need comfort, when we know not what to ask for.  The Holy Spirit that was promised to us by Jesus gives us the words to pray and Jesus as our Great High Priest as Deb Boyle reminded the ladies at the Spring Tea intercedes to the Father for us with His prayers since He is perfect and sinless and knows exactly what we need.

For Jesus Christ fought for us from the time He entered the world in a lowly manger and walked on the Sea of Galilee, when He healed the sick and lame and feed the poor and lowly and especially when He suffered at the hands of the soldiers when He was crucified.  Jesus Christ as Timothy wrote, “fought the good fight, finished the course and kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).  Through Jesus Christ perfect life, He endured pain torment and torture in order to give us eternal life.  This was the gift He freely gives us today in order for all of us to be with Him in His kingdom.

And Jesus Christ won the battle for each of us.  Jesus Christ won the battle over sin, death, the devil, Hell and damnation to free us from our sins.  This was no little skirmish, but it was Jesus Christ fighting for each of our lives in order to give us the gift of eternal life.  For Jesus Christ fights not as a soldier, but as the Son of God Who has no equal.  Just as Jesus at the beginning of His ministry struggled with Satan for 40 days in the wilderness and then right before being betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed with such fervor that it was as if drops of blood fell from His face, Jesus battled Satan in order to set each of us free.  Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself as the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sin of the world.  The stain of sin that each of us carries that only in, with and through our baptism and faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us can we be set free as children of God.  We through Jesus Christ sacrifice can “have peace”, because of the promise of Jesus Christ that He “overcame the world” for you and for me.

The best example we have this morning as we celebrate Mother’s Day is how each of our mother’s endured the pains of child birth to give new life to each of us.  Thank you Mother’s for this gift.  In a recent movie, “October Baby” the actress who plays the birth mother of Hannah connects clearly to the decisions that Mother’s sometimes make.  You see, she unlike her character had a successful abortion when she was younger.  Unknowingly the screenwriters sent her the script for the movie and Shari Rigby understood at a much deeper level the sacrifices and their ramifications that we parents make in our own lives.  This morning Jesus Christ models for each of us a sacrifice of Himself in order to give us eternal life.  May we daily pray to God asking for what we need and embrace Jesus Christ sacrifice and His battle for each of our lives.  For Jesus Christ overcame the world for us and did this in order to set all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel free.  AMEN.

Sermon 05062012, Easter 4, 4th Sunday After Easter

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray, Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead, Alleluia!  Jesus Christ You said that You had to go to the Father in order that the Helper would come.  Jesus Christ You promised His coming would convict the world of sin and righteousness because of our unbelief.  May we begin to understand the Holy Spirit is our great Helper and in His glorifying You, we will be guided by His disclosure to understand more fully Your will for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Jesus Christ is Risen and the Spirit of Truth will guide you! He is risen indeed Alleluia!

During the colder months of the year, Sarah and I had a little ritual that we would do sometimes at lunch time and sometimes after dinner.  We would play the game of ‘hide and seek’.  It was funny to try and explain this game to Sarah and hear her count in the other room with her meek angelic voice.  There were some places that I would hide that she would find me quickly, so I had to become more creative as to where I would hide.  When she had been looking for a minute or two and hadn’t found me, I would whistle for her like my Father used to when I was her age and we were playing hide and seek and she would come running into the room looking again.  Every time she found me she would get excited and give me a great big hug and kiss.  And the first word out of her mouth, ‘again’.  She loved that special time with her Father.

Last week I promised you a connection with our theme of Jesus going to the Father and this mornings Gospel is the fulfillment of that promise.  Jesus tells us clearly that He in going to be with the Father made us a promise.  This promise is that God the Father and Jesus Christ His only Son will send the Spirit of Truth to guide us.  God’s promises are not empty words of promise like some politicians who promise to change the government and then become a part of what is a problem.  God the Father and Jesus Christ have a track record that we can look at and see their promises and their fulfillment.  For example, God the Father promised in Genesis when Adam and Eve had just eaten the fruit and brought sin into the world, God the Father through Paul in Romans reminds us that though sin entered through one man, grace enters through Jesus Christ and His innocent death on Calvary for each and every one of us.  So to when King David as ruler over Israel conquers all those in opposition to the Lord, the promise is that David will not build a place for God to dwell, but David will have a son that will fulfill this.  And to David is born Solomon who builds the temple where the Ark of the Covenant is placed and God’s promise is fulfilled for David in Solomon and for us today through the promise of Jesus Christ of the Holy Spirit.

For the Holy Spirit comes to each of us today.  When we had my ordination a few years ago we were privileged to have other clergy from here in Goodland attend and take part in the service.  In a conversation afterwards Jason Trupp, then Pastor of the Four Square Church said that the Holy Spirit was clearly present in and among us at that service.  And my comment to him was we always have the Holy Spirit present and we are reminded of this with the Eternal Flame above the Altar.  This is the reminder that God the Holy Spirit is always here dwelling among us as was promised to us by Jesus Christ, but also with us in the Holy Supper around the Altar and especially when we baptize children.  For we invoke, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Whom we baptize and seal the child or adult with the seal of the Holy Spirit upon their head and their heart.  This promise is fulfilled also when we pray for the Holy Spirit to come in the Holy Supper where we receive Jesus Christ precious Body and Blood and are empowered to live lives of faith spreading the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

But one may ask, what is the job of the Holy Spirit?  Clearly Jesus Christ tells us from our Gospel this morning that the role of the Holy Spirit is to guide us.  The Holy Spirit in fulfillment of the plan of salvation found in and through Jesus Christ innocent death on Calvary has been sent to guide and create faith in us.  Luther’s Catechism says it so well, “What is the work of the Holy Spirit?  The work of the Holy Spirit is called conversion, or regeneration or new birth.  This change of mind and heart, which the Holy Ghost wrought in us when He enlightened us with His gifts by giving us faith in Christ, is called Conversion, turning, because He turned us from sin towards our Savior; it is also called Regeneration or a New Birth, because a new attitude or feeling toward God, a new spiritual life, was born in us; we are “created in Christ Jesus”, became “a new creature”.  All these are figurative expressions, which in plain words mean that the Holy Ghost has wrought faith in our hearts.””  Because of the work of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives we have been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ and are set free from sin, death and the devil.  The promise to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, to David of the coming Christ and the fulfillment found in Jesus Christ innocent death on Calvary for us is fulfilled completely by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that sets us free because of the promise God made to us.

This weekend marked the opening of the Avengers movie by Marvel Comics.  If you have watched any of the previous movies like Thor, Iron Man or Captain America there was always an allusion, sometimes small and sometimes direct of the Avenger Initiative, but now the promise has been fulfilled of a movie that brings all of our favorite super heroes together.  So to from our Gospel this morning Jesus Christ explains more fully that He will return to the Father, but the Holy Spirit comes to speak on His behalf and we know from our Catechism that it is the Holy Ghost that “calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies and keeps each of us in the Christian faith.”  For this promise is fulfilled as we hear God’s Word spoken, eat Jesus Christ precious Body and Blood around the Altar and leave God’s Altar and His House with a new attitude and calling to spread the salvation message to and for all mankind, especially all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Sermon 04292012, Easter 3, Third Sunday After Easter

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray, Lord Jesus Christ in coming down from heaven Your purpose was to save us from our sins.  When You were led to Golgotha, the disciples didn’t understand the full ramifications.  After three days, You rose from the dead and still the disciples did not fully understand, that the battle was over and the victory over sin, death and the devil had been won.  Yet, there was still more to be revealed, You, Jesus Christ in fulfillment of the plan of salvation had to go to the Father.  May we who gather here this morning confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior be encouraged in our confession and be empowered to boldly proclaim the message of salvation for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

He is Risen and now must go to the Father!  He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

This past Sunday afternoon, our church had the pleasure of embarking upon an adventure.  You see, through a generous anonymous donation, the Goodland Churches and we, Emmanuel Lutheran Church kicked off a “Films of Faith Series” with the movie entitled, “Lion of Judah” at the Sherman Theater.  Judah, the main character was born with one purpose in mind, to be the Old Testament sacrifice that took place in Solomon’s Temple.  Money had changed hands, Judah was bound and placed on the altar for the sacrifice for the sins of mankind.  In essence Judah’s final destination was that altar in Jerusalem to have his blood spilled to set the people free in fulfillment of the laws given by Moses from God.

Ironically, Jesus Christ came for a purpose as well.  Jesus Christ innocent man, came to die on the cross on Golgotha.  Jesus Christ came to walk the earth, heal the sick, bind the broken hearted and loose the demons that possessed the people in order that they would be free.  Just as Judah was the blood sacrifice in the movie, Jesus Christ was our blood sacrifice with a sole purpose.

Jesus Christ purpose was our salvation.  Jesus Christ came to set us free from the sins that bind us.  Jesus Christ descended from heaven and entered into this world in a stable in order to offer each and every one of us salvation.  In Jesus Christ offering us salvation it costs us nothing.  Jesus Christ offers us this as a free gift without cost and without any expectation or desire for payment.  Unlike our society which wants something for everything that is done, Jesus Christ broke the bonds of slavery to sin.  Jesus Christ offers us our salvation as a free gift, because of His great love for each and every one of us.

Because of Jesus great love for us, when Jesus Christ accomplished our salvation His ultimate destination was with His Father.  Just as when we take a long trip and have our eyes set on ‘getting home’, Jesus Christ had the same ultimate destination of ‘getting home’ to heaven.  Jesus Christ in order to fulfill the entire plan of salvation and complete the mission of salvation for all of mankind needed to return to heaven to be with His Father.  For in going home, the circle would be complete from where He began at His Father’s side in heaven, to the stable, to Egypt, to Nazareth, Jerusalem and back to heaven.  But what is more amazing is that Jesus going home to heaven also provided a promise from Him that we will talk about more fully next week.  So be prepared to hear the connection.

As a final thought, consider that Jesus fulfilling the plan of salvation reveals to and for us that Jesus Christ mission was dying on the Cross for each of us, not because He had to, but because He wanted to.  Jesus Christ chose death and returning to the Father in order to offer us eternal life.  May we who gather here this morning confessing our faith and for Lily especially taking the responsibility upon herself with her confirmation vows be empowered to understand that Jesus Christ died to set all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel free from our sins.  For Jesus Christ did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the World might be saved through Him and His innocent death on Calvary for each and every one of us this morning.  AMEN.

Sermon 04222012 Easter 2, Second Sunday After Easter

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray, Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead, Alleluia!  Jesus Christ You laid down Your life for we Your sheep.  For in and through our baptism into Your life, death and resurrection, we are grafted into the flock of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.  May we understand that we are in Your flock and that in knowing You we will be one flock with the One Shepherd, You Jesus Christ our Lord.  May we listen to Your voice and flee to Your loving arms that promise us eternal life for all the world, including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

Jesus Christ laid down His life for us, but He is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Recently, Michele and I saw one of the preview clips for the upcoming two-part movie adaptation of The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins.  For those of you who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Peter Jackson returns with the prequel to the trilogy.  Having already met the character of Gandalf, it is not a stretch to see Gandalf a few years younger embarking upon an adventure with the Elves, Dwarves, Men of the Age and a hobbit.  In this prequel Gandalf plays a key role as leader, guide and shepherd as the band of ‘explorers’ head to the Misty Mountains.

Just as Gandalf leads and guides this group, this morning’s Gospel opens the door to the biblical understanding of some terms that we need to ‘come to grips with’.  The first term is ‘hireling’.  In an agronomic society in the Holy Land, Jesus Christ used terms that the people would easily understand.  Ironically here in Western Kansas, we grow the same crop, wheat.  And we know that sometimes on the farm we need additional help.  The term ‘hireling’ simply denotes a day laborer who only has an interest in working and being paid a fair wage.  We have heard many stories of laborers from the bible, like the story of the denarius and the landowner paying the one who worked 12 hours the same as the one who had worked one hour.  The sad aspect is that the hirelings were usually exploited and sometimes abused and in most cases could leave one farm and go get another job rather quickly.  Thus the hirelings in some cases did not care about the land owners investment, the crops yield or even the herd if they were watching a flock of sheep or pigs.

A disciple on the other hand was one who craved to ‘learn’ what was being taught in order to pass on the teachings.  It is clear from Jesus that He had 12 ‘real’ disciples who were always with Him and hung on His every word.  These disciples walked with Jesus, soaked up His knowledge and presence for the sole purpose of passing on what they learned.  The disciples were learning about the salvation message that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.

But for us today, we need to ask ourselves are we ‘hirelings’ or are we ‘disciples’?  This is a tough question if we truly ask ourselves and honestly discern our true feelings.  On the surface all of us want to say we are ‘disciples’, but the truth that God sees from our lives is that we sometimes act like ‘hirelings’.  We want what we want immediately and do not see, nor understand ourselves as ‘interested’ or ‘investing’ in what is most beneficial for the kingdom of God.  Whether it is reading the bible daily, exercising the muscle of faith given to us in baptism like we had this morning with Matthew and Abigail, or individually seeking opportunities for service as a lector, acolyte, coffee host or greeter.  Should we seek for the glory with our names in the bulletin like a ‘hireling’ or should we be a disciple and do the job, not for our own glory, but for the glory of God?  Hence, the question still requires an honest answer; are we hirelings seeking our own glory, or are we disciples, seeking God’s Glory?

The promise we have no matter our answer, whether hireling or disciple is that Jesus Christ died for each of us.  Jesus Christ Who came down from heaven, suffered and died the death we deserve, is our Great Shepherd Who calls, gathers and cares for us in each of our daily lives.  Jesus Christ, no matter the situation had as His primary focus His going to Jerusalem and suffering for each and every one of us.  Jesus Christ in the Gospels clearly tells of His impending suffering and death and had as His focus the eternal gain we would inherit by His active obedience as the Great Shepherd.  Jesus Christ was not a ‘hireling’, but a true ‘disciple’ and shepherd of the Great Flock of witnesses gathered now in heaven.

But what is our answer are we ‘hirelings’ or ‘disciples’?  No matter our answer Jesus Christ lived, died and rose from the dead in order to set us free from the sins that bind us.  As the Great Shepherd we who are His sheep hear His voice and are gathered into His loving eternal arms.  For this is the message of salvation that we share with each other and which God shares with us clearly and freely for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel.  May we who gather here at today, whether hireling or disciple embrace the message of salvation offered for each of us and understand our role as model and mentor for the newly baptized like Abigail and Matthew and journey with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the World might be saved through Jesus Christ and His life, death and resurrection for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

Sermon 04152012 Easter 1, First Sunday After Easter

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray, Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead, Alleluia!  Just as the disciples gathered in the upper room with fear and doubt of the events of the last week, may we who gather here this morning understand fear and doubt is overcome by Jesus Christ.  For in Jesus Christ offering His life, we can more fully understand that our freedom is the gift of eternal life You freely offer to each of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel.  AMEN.

The disciples were afraid and doubted, but He is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

In the movie “Soul Surfer”, Bethany the main character after losing her arm in a shark attack, gets back up on the board, because she is a surfer at heart.  But reality deals her a cruel blow and the once champion, fails at the one thing she enjoys most, a surfing competition.  At a complete loss, searching her soul and about to give up, Bethany along the sea shore hears some words of wisdom from her father in the query of her question, “What do I do?”  Her father says, “Listen for what comes next”.

This morning we find ourselves with the disciples in the upper room following the tragic events of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.  The disciple like Bethany, don’t understand what to do, their leader, teacher, companion and friend, Jesus Christ was nailed to the Cross and died.  But the women now are telling them, “Jesus is alive”.  “He is Risen”!

Yet, in great fear of the Jews and the potential of experiencing the same fate that Jesus had experienced, the disciples have gathered behind a locked door.  But who should arrive, Jesus Christ Himself.  And immediately, Jesus Christ overcame the disciples fear.  The doors of the disciples hearts that had cowered in fear and ran when Jesus was taken by the soldiers was melted away like snow on a warm summer day.  The disciples who had walked with Jesus Christ, recognized Jesus Christ, not only His voice, His mannerisms and His sacred touch, but His mere presence radiated the love He had for His companions.  Jesus Christ overcame the fear that shackled the hearts of the disciples, because He was physically present with them in the upper room.

Not only was their fear melted away, but Jesus Christ overcame the disciples doubt.  Historically from the Gospels and Jesus miracles, when Jesus would raise someone from the dead, whether the little girl, Lazarus or the boy being carried to his burial, Jesus to prove they were not a spirit and were in fact alive, would tell the people, give them something to eat.  But Jesus Christ proved His being alive and melted the doubts of the disciples by showing His Hands, His Feet and His Side.  Jesus Christ made very tangible proof that He was not a ‘figment’ of their collective imagination, but really there with them in the upper room.

And Jesus first words to them were “Peace be with you”.  This Peace offered to the disciples was a peace of forgiveness.  With all of the disciples fleeing the Garden when He was taken, Peter’s denial in the Courtyard and now cowering in fear and doubt behind a closed locked door, Jesus saw into their hearts and forgave them for the doubt and fear and turned it into a strength for proclaiming, “He is risen”! 

You see, the disciples unlike we today had a tangible Jesus Christ present with them in a personal way.  The disciples could put their fingers into Jesus Christ wounds, feel the caress of His loving and forgiving hands and their doubts and fears disappeared.  For Jesus Christ offered to the disciples and to us freedom through His sacrifice.  The freedom they experienced was to proclaim to each other and the entire world the message of salvation found in Jesus Christ.  The disciples who saw the resurrected Jesus Christ like the women who went to the tomb early in the morning could now say, “He is risen”!  What is so amazing is that the message “He has risen” frees each and everyone of us this morning from the bonds of sin, death and the devil, because of what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary.

The message of peace that Jesus Christ proclaims to the disciples and which Thomas wouldn’t believe until he touched Jesus Hands and Side, we believe today here at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Goodland Kansas on faith.  And this faith given to each of us through our baptism into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection, emboldens all of us to overcome our own individual doubts and fears and gives us the freedom found in Jesus Christ to proclaim the message of salvation for all of humankind.  We are emboldened by Jesus appearing in the upper room to proclaim “He is risen” and enabled to live not bound by our sins, but freed from our sins because of Jesus Christ.  For Jesus Christ clearly told the disciples, including Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”  For this is ‘what comes next’, our opportunity to share the message of salvation, not only with and for all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  But we have the opportunity to spread the saying, “He is risen” to the ends of the earth since it is the salvation message won for all mankind through Jesus Christ on Calvary for you and for me and all of the saints of all time and place.  “He is risen” and we respond with the proclamation, “He is risen indeed, Alleluia”.  AMEN.